BZPRPG - Po-Wahi

[Snelly]

IC: Hakari - Forsi, Papa Podu's -

Hakari nodded as Aurax answered Kanohi's question. "Looks like there should be enough plants on the way." Hakari then thought over if there was anything they needed before they took off. "I think as long as we make sure we have plenty of water we should be fine." 

OOC: @Harvali @ARROW404 @Mel @Lady Takanuva @Tarn @BULiK @~Xemnas~ @BBBBalta @Umbraline Yumiwa @Rahisaurus 

[Daniel the Finlander]

IC: Sir Dahkapa (Blackrock Canyon)

"Back to Ko-Koro," he replied without turning back to face him or stopping. He was heading back the way they had come. "I care not if you follow, but the desert is treacherous to cross alone... especially without water, or ice. Might be wise for you to do so. But don't expect much generosity or kindness from me."

OOC: @Endless Sea (Alaki Nuva)

[Endless Sea (Alaki Nuva)]

IC: Joskander (Blackrock Canyon)

Ko-Koro.  Ha.  Funny how that works out, I suppose.

Joskander watched Dahkapa as he walked out into the burning light of the sun.  Message received.  Bridge burned.  Just as well they'd be going in the same direction, he supposed.  Perhaps he'd stop off by the Sanctum, let the guards know of their erstwhile knight's wanderings?  No reason not to, he supposed.  The Guard could do with that information what they wished.  He had another former protector of Ko-Koro to look after.

And I've got a news flash for you, brother.  I'm the one with the Mask of Speed, not you.

Maybe I'll see you there.  Maybe this is farewell for good.  I'll leave it to Destiny to decide which.

Joskander's Kakama flared to life.  A gust of wind rustled Dahkapa's cape as the Toa of Air blurred and vanished across the horizon.

OOC: @Daniel the Finlander Joskander to Ko-Wahi.

[Visaru]

On 4/15/2023 at 10:22 AM, Harvali said:

 

IC Kardaka - Po-Wahi - Ostia 

The Turaga swallowed, and tried to act casual, though her fingers drummed her staff with unease. “Ah, So, um, it’s been some time since I stepped foot in a village of Stone, and news is sparse in the desert. Are there any new laws of Akiri Hewkii I need to be aware of?” 

"I'm afraid I'm not really the best person to ask," Verak said, leaning over the edge of the rattling elevator, as if trying to spot someone he knew on the crowded market street below. "I try not to follow politics too closely. But I do at least know enough to tell you that Hewkii ain't Akiri anymore. Been replaced by someone named... Renaka, I think? Don't know much, except she's made the Koro practically unrecognizable."

[Vezok's Friend]

IC: [Kohra - Iron Mahi, First Passenger Car]

Kohra saw Dolbren gesture in response. So-so. Could be better. Yeah, that tracked. Then, she watched him fling himself over to the cargo carriage and hoist himself back up to the roof. Her shoulder flared up in pain just from sympathy. Or maybe it was actually hurting again. Stopping her fall earlier had almost dislocated the whole joint. She paused for a moment, closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against the cool metal of the carriage for three breaths, before scouting out the next best handle to continue her own climb.

It felt like forever, and whatever what might be going down could probably have been over in the perceived time it took her to finish the rest of the climb, but eventually the vortixx arrived back on the part of the train people were supposed to go, between the passenger cars. She’d have to try and find Datrox again. Best way to do so was to call him she supposed, so she pulled open the first passenger car’s door and did just that:

“Datrox!?”

OOC: @Tarn, but also open for interaction!
 

[Daniel the Finlander]

IC: Sir Dahkapa (Blackrock Canyon)

Dahkapa raised an eyebrow. It seemed like Joskander had decided to leave him behind. His previous bitter warning about lack of water now seemed pointless, as he probably wouldn't run out if he'd cross the desert at this speed.

Joskander hadn't uttered a single word about what he was planning, but he knew it wasn't anything good. Part of him thought that returning to Ko-Koro would be a bad idea. And perhaps it was. But with Ak'rei'an on his side, he had nothing to fear. Let the heathen plot whatever he wished, he thought, and continued marching across the desert. Without a Mask of Speed, it would be a lengthy and slow journey. Plenty of time to think.

OOC: Dahkapa to Ko-Wahi

 

[~Xemnas~]

IC, Aurax: Forsi

Aurax nodded. "Right. Let's make sure we have enough water and supplies for the trip."

...

After a short (but seemingly long) trip to the local shops, Aurax and his company were ready to set out. The vast stretches of desert lay before them. Aurax was pretty familiar with the area, as Po-Koro was previously his home, but luckily he had Sigrus there to help keep him from getting them all lost. Just in case.

OOC: @Harvali @ARROW404 @Mel @Lady Takanuva @Tarn @BULiK @~Xemnas~ @BBBBalta @Umbraline Yumiwa @Rahisaurus 

[Mel]

[Forsi, the road out (Ranok)]

Ranok adjusted the moist rag strapped around his mouth and nose.   His contribution the shopping trip had been mostly finding a succulent for Lapu—the hen-and-chicks had been perfect.

It was unwise to fiddle with any of his instruments in the harsh desert air, and he found himself stepping from one foot to the other in absence of the familiar distraction.   He looked at his companions, waiting to see who would make the first step.

OOC: @~Xemnas~ @Harvali @ARROW404 @Lady Takanuva @Tarn @BULiK @BBBBalta @EmperorWhenua @Rahisaurus

[Po-Koro, Technology Emporium (Ferellis)]

A Po-skakdi in Po-koro…was just about the most normal thing on the island.   It disconcerted Ferellis that she felt so out of place in the village, er city of stone when everybody else seemed to pay her absolutely no mind.  (There had also been moments when she would have killed to look more like a helpless tourist in order to be offered directions.)

Still, she was here now.  She was actually doing this.

Ting.

She stuck her hands in her pockets as she waited for the shop workers to respond to the call bell.

OOC: @Perp @Geardirector...and anyone else who works here.

[~Xemnas~]

IC, Aurax: Forsi

Aurax looked at his companions, then began to walk forward, in the direction of Po-Koro, his old home. He wasn't sure what exactly awaited him there, if anything at all. 

He glanced back and spoke up. "So, what other changes have happened on the island? Besides the train, anyway."

OOC: @Harvali @ARROW404 @Mel @Lady Takanuva @Tarn @BULiK @~Xemnas~ @BBBBalta @Umbraline Yumiwa @Rahisaurus 

[Void Emissary]

On 4/18/2023 at 7:46 AM, a goose said:

"Vy!"

IC: Vyartha | Second Passenger Car on the Iron Mahi

I didn't lower my sword, but I glanced back to where Nikarra had spoken -- not for long, but enough to see the colour return to her cheeks and her eyes light up with the glow of sentience. Still no one behind us in the compartment, though. That was something, at the very least. I turned my head again, back to where the sounds of movement had come from.

"People are climbing on the outside of the train," I said, shuffling backwards, back towards Nikarra. "Moving backwards. No efforts to attack us yet. What did you find?"

OOC: @a goose

-Void

[BULiK]

On 7/21/2023 at 1:49 AM, ~Xemnas~ said:

IC, Aurax: Forsi

Aurax looked at his companions, then began to walk forward, in the direction of Po-Koro, his old home. He wasn't sure what exactly awaited him there, if anything at all. 

He glanced back and spoke up. "So, what other changes have happened on the island? Besides the train, anyway." 

IC: Nichou [Forsi]

The Onu-Matoran was glad he had tinted lenses for his Kanohi - even with them protecting his optics the light was on the edge of unbearable. His gaze had been at the sandy dirt underfoot. Nichou still wasn't quite sure what to think of this whole 'resurrection' business. He had been quiet for some time until now

"After the Turaga were killed, Makuta was defeated, and the Akiri had stepped up to lead, things got tense for a bit. Lot of damage to repair. Po-Koro turned inwards to heal and rebuild - made itself hard to find. There were some strange attacks going on all over the island, even with Makuta gone. Was getting scary - but the bigshots eventually put aside their differences and things cooled down."

"And then... well... Matoro was killed and Ko got taken over by cultists and scoundrels. Last major gee-oh-pol-iti-kal thing that happened was when the Maru liberated the city. Not everyone made it though..."

Refocus. It's all about perspective. Nichou thought back to the bitter-sweetness of sunset.

"Quite the mess to clean up. So my point is - that's how I wound up getting into architecture."

Edited August 16 by BULiK

[Emzee]

On 4/3/2023 at 9:34 AM, ARROW404 said:

IC: Suran - The Dancing Crab, Ostia

The Lesterin knocked back a second shot, then tapped the bar for a second glass, which he poured and slid toward the Ta-Toa. "Nothing makes me 'sure,'" he said. "Which is precisely my point. We don't know what to expect." He gave a slight shrug, "Matoran, Lesterin, Skakdi- people are not so different from one another, at the end of the day. Probably, we will find a place full of people whom, at the core, are just like the rest. Either way, I'll keep my hopes... middling."

IC: Tailua — Ostia, The Dancing Crab

“I suppose you gatta point,” Tailua said, “While I ain’t expecting da worst, I ain’t hopin’ for da best either!”

Tailua then pondered for a brief moment. Should he order a drink as well? At the very least, he should probably offer to cover the damage he did to the barkeep’s window…

The Waif — Ostia, Rooftop of the building near The Dancing Crab

The lithe, hooded figure continued to pace around the rooftop of the neighboring building. With all exits accounted for in her mind, she twirled a poison dagger between her fingers. She tracked her supervisor as he circled the tavern's rear, dipping in and out of view even to the Waif’s expertly trained eyes.

The last she saw of the taller hooded figure was him dipping into a pitch-black alleyway. The cries of terror that had flooded the streets earlier had died down to whimpers and moans before just becoming a quiet shuffling of people. Someone had moved and covered the failed Tenderfoot’s cadaver with a worn tarp.

Barely sparing a thought to the lost potential, the Waif continued pacing.

OOC: @Ghosthands @BULiK @Void Emissary

[~Xemnas~]

IC, Aurax: Po-Wahi

Aurax frowned. He was saddened to hear of Matoro's death. The Ko-Matoran translator had always been kind to those who had sought out the wisdom of Turaga Nuju. 

"Glad to hear that you've been doing alright, Nichou," he said. "Ko-Koro taken over..." Aurax processed the information. "At least it's been liberated, I guess, but that's still really concerning. Nothing like that has ever happened before, and that was with Makuta gone. Who knows what could happen now that he's returned?"

The Dashi became silent for a moment as his words hung in the air. 

"Say, Nichou, if my house has been demolished while I've been gone, do you think you could design me a new place to live?" Aurax said this with a slight joking tone, trying to bring a little humor back to the conversation.

OOC: @Harvali @ARROW404 @Mel @Lady Takanuva @Tarn @BULiK @~Xemnas~ @BBBBalta @Umbraline Yumiwa @Rahisaurus 

[BULiK]

23 hours ago, ~Xemnas~ said:

IC, Aurax: Po-Wahi

"Say, Nichou, if my house has been demolished while I've been gone, do you think you could design me a new place to live?" Aurax said this with a slight joking tone, trying to bring a little humor back to the conversation.

IC: Nichou [Po-Wahi, Desert Trail]

"Certainly*," Nichou shot back with a different, slyer intonation. "*provided enough widgets are involved, of course."

Joking aside, he brought the tone back down to earth.

"Perhaps it's a little early to start checking real estate trends. Not to mention - you don't strike me as someone who's going to settle down somewhere any time soon."

Nichou kicked a slight outcropping of sand, the dust scattering as it fell. Their footprints would be swept away just as easily by the whims of nature.

"Then again, stranger things have happened; supposedly Lepidran is still cataloguing bugs somewhere in the jungle. Atiel must have settled down at some point, too - I never caught wind of what he or Dece did after we split up. They could be anywhere. Now that travel between and outside of the Koros is less dangerous, the island feels so much bigger than back during The War."

"Maybe that's just because I've seen more of it now. Enough to understand how much I don't understand."

Edited August 17 by BULiK

[~Xemnas~]

IC, Aurax: Po-Wahi

"There's a lot that I don't think anyone understands," Aurax said, "including myself. My time in the Archipelago, for me at least, puts into perspective just how big the world truly is.

"I mean we've always had people washing up on Mata Nui with no memories," he glanced over at Timak briefly, "but the existence of Kentoku, and now this Seprili place, makes me wonder what sort of future we're in for. Why is all of this being revealed now? Will something about these other lands help push back against Makuta- or help him strike against us?"

He let out a small sigh. "I guess a lot of my questions just boil down to why... Hopefully I'll find some answers, but I'm not sure if I'll like them."

OOC: @Harvali @ARROW404 @Mel @Lady Takanuva @Tarn @BULiK @~Xemnas~ @BBBBalta @Umbraline Yumiwa @Rahisaurus 

[BULiK]

IC: Nichou [Po-Wahi, Desert Trail]

"The 'why' will only take you so far."

He paused for a moment, looking down from the cloudless sky to look member of the group in the optics. On reflection, it was a very un-Nichou-like thing to say, so he took the time to explain it. Perhaps as much to explain it to himself as to them.

"I've had a lot of time to think about the 'why' while you were dead - or, wherever you were," the Onu-Matoran continued. It was tempting to get sidetracked with how little they knew about what happened do Aurax, but Nichou maintained course. "Why some of us in the Companions were 'chosen'. Why you were the one who died. Why Lepidran didn't become a Toa, and why Stannis did."

"It's not worth it. Too... abstract. Does Mata Nui need to give a reason? If he did, would we even be able to understand it?"

Nichou paused, simultaneously for effect and to form his words. It was the same as if he took a chisel to a slab of marble in Po-Koro: visualizing the carve he needed to make to reveal the statue it would become. Measure twice, speak once.

He had slowed down for a moment physically as well. He put his hand on Aurax's shoulder and looked him in the optics.

"I've always wanted to understand why these things happen - that urge is why I joined up back in the day - but it took me years to accept that I didn't need to understand the 'why' to appreciate the 'now'. You don't need to understand your reincarnation to take advantage of it."

Nichou let go and continued to walk, readjusting his pack on his shoulders by pulling the straps. The pace picked up again.

"We should also consider that Makuta's return might make as little sense to him or his forces as your return does to us. That new lands opening up is neither good nor bad, but what we make of it. Regardless of why it's happening now. That's not to say we shouldn't be searching - if we can understand more of the 'how', it could help the heroes who will be doing the fighting."

Edited August 17 by BULiK

[~Xemnas~]

IC, Aurax: Po-Wahi

Aurax let out a small smile. It seemed that he wasn't the only one who had changed since the disbanding of Stannis's Companions; Nichou's thoughts seemed to say that his time on his own had left him with a sort of personal wisdom that Aurax was appreciative of. It was different from the Nichou Aurax knew while being a Companion, but he gladly welcomed the Onu-Matoran's input. 

"Alright, thinking about 'hows', then, three come to my mind: how did Stannis and the other Toa defeat Makuta, how did Makuta return, and how can we fight back and defeat Makuta again?"

He glanced ahead to double check and make sure they were still on the path to the Koro before looking again at Nichou. "Have you talked to Stannis lately? Has he told you anything of importance about the battle against Makuta?"

OOC: @Harvali @ARROW404 @Mel @Lady Takanuva @Tarn @BULiK @~Xemnas~ @BBBBalta @Umbraline Yumiwa @Rahisaurus 

[BULiK]

IC: Nichou [Po-Wahi, Desert Trail]

"Last time I talked with him was right after he fought at Ko-Koro," Nichou responded. "Needless to say, those three questions weren't on his mind," the tradesman continued before a momentary pause. "At least - he never brought up anything of the sort."

"We mostly talked about you being dead and how he never found your grave afterwards. He also mentioned some kind of 'Keeping Place'-" Nichou made quotes in the air with his fingers for effect "-underneath Kini-Nui where he likes to meditate. Apparently it's a big secret and even the other Maru don't go there - he didn't go into much detail about where it was or what it was 'keeping' - maybe they trapped Makuta in there?"

OOC: @BBBBalta Lekua might recognize some key words from here

[ARROW404]

IC: Lapu - Po-Wahi desert trail

The mute Toa paid little attention to the conversation happening at the other end of the group. His focus was on scanning the surroundings, ensuring everything was safe. In one of his hands, he practiced summoning cacti and aloe, based on what he had seen thus far in Po-Wahi. As a result, he had also learned how nice chewing them was, and offered a piece of each to Kanohi and Hakari.

OoC: @Harvali@Snelly

[Void Emissary]

On 8/14/2023 at 8:44 PM, Emzee said:

The cries of terror that had flooded the streets earlier had died down to whimpers and moans before just becoming a quiet shuffling of people. Someone had moved and covered the failed Tenderfoot’s cadaver with a worn tarp.

IC: Gunner | The Dancing Crab

Let Lohkar parry philosophies with another hired gun on the run, I figured, while I make sure that this nimrod's nimrods were well beyond the horizon. I tapped the Captain lightly on the shoulder, nodded slightly towards Tailua, then towards the front of the tavern, and clicked my tongue once for good measure. I prayed he got the message -- I was already up and out of the backroom by then.

I almost missed the broken window as I stepped into the main room, so casual were the patrons of the Crab. Might as well have been that nothing was amiss at all, but a good quartermaster knows that might as well don't mean is, and I spotted the poor busboys sweeping up the shattered glass from the floor. I walked over to the bar, where the owner-slash-barkeeper was grumbling over a few dozen shot glasses of stinking Salamander. I traded a few words of concern for his damaged property (not appreciated), and slid over enough widgets to buy a hypothetical top-shelf bottle if such a thing could be found here (more appreciated). I slipped a couple more widgets into the aprons of the busboys on my way to the window, too.

The scene outside the broken window was a sight indeed. The shape of a body underneath a sheet was impossible to miss in the middle of the road, and I prayed that someone, anyone, got it out of the sun before too long. Mostly, though, I was praying that whoever was under there was the same person that had been hunting Tailua, and I wouldn't have to worry about them anymore.

But, you know me. Lady Luck's never been my biggest fan.

So, instead, I glanced about, checking the alleys and the rooftops and the mid-day crowds for a sign of an assassin, or even an assassin's assistant. A glint of a sword on a passerby, but that was to be expected; same as skulking youths in the alleyways, probably looking to fob off some shoddy narcotics; but had that been a shine of metal twirling up on above, on the rooftops? Hard to say, frankly -- could've been anything. But never could be too careful.

"This place gotta back door?" I asked one of the busboys as he stood back up straight. He answered in the affirmative, pointed in the expected direction, and I -- like an idiot -- gripped my sword and headed back there....

OOC: @Ghosthands@Emzee potentially to run into the Waif's supervisor? Up to you -- let me know if Gunner potentially catching sight of the Waif's twirled knife is too much.

-Void

[Mel]

[Road to Po-koro (Ranok)]

Ranok listened intently to the conversation between Aurax and Nichou, but the usually talkative bard was silent—partly to avoid exposing his voice in the desiccating air and partly because the two matoran were giving shape to stories he’d only heard secondhand.  The Keeping Place...that would make a lovely name for an instrumental piece, if he could capture the feeling of idyll...

There was pattern in the story, like a barely-detectable leitmotif, though he thought it best not to voice it yet.

Stannis, it seemed, had a habit of keeping to secret places.   From what he’d heard of the toa of stone, it was a general part of the Maru’s demeanor, whether it was cultivated or simply the result of a long career of needing to stay one step ahead of Makuta’s servants.

He had a hunch they might find any of the other Maru much more willing to speak.

OOC: @BBBBalta @BULiK @Snelly @Rahisaurus @Tarn @Lady Takanuva @ARROW404 @~Xemnas~ @EmperorWhenua

Edited August 27 by Mel

[EmperorWhenua]

IC Sigrus | Po-Wahi Road

"Of course he doesn't go into detail," the often silent but always observant administrator said with a stir. "Speaking plain ruins his brand as a ✨prophet✨." Accustomed to the high-elevation forests against the Ko-Wahi slopes and their cool climes, Sigrus was absolutely suffering under the sweltering Po-Wahi heat. His hopsack woolen cape, usually kept close and tight, was now thrown wide open, its cloth bunched together on his back, and exhibited his rarely-seen twin meteor maces dangling at his sides—for some, it was a glimpse that even the most peaceful of men could be dangerous. 

"There's a lesson that even Stannis, in his 'wisdom,' is still learning, yes—That is: Not everyone who performs miracles is holy, no."

Edited August 27 by EmperorWhenua